High School Students for Agricultural Science Research. Proceedings of the I Congress PIIISA: 23-28 (2012)

Resumen:

Up to date, early flower development and the fundamental changes accompanying preand
post‐fertilization in Cucurbitaceae (watermelon, melon, zucchini, cucumber….) have not
been sufficiently described at the morphological level. Some varieties of Cucurbitaceae
recently emerged as commercial trade, are generating a great success because of their high
quality (they are very sweet), and their great agronomic value (large size, resistance to
diseases, high yield, harvesting time...). Production of these fruits in the greenhouse requires
the plants to be pollinated effectively. Bees and bumblebees are introduced artificially in
greenhouses and usually carry out this duty. However, the efficiency of the process is not very
high at present and farmers need it to be improved. This requires detailed knowledge of how
pollen production takes place, how and when the female flowers reach their receptivity, and
whether pollen is viable and can or cannot germinate as well as many other details of
fertilization.
The main aim of this work was to characterize the morphological stages of floral
development in two plant models: watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and zucchini (Cucurbita
pepo), by analyzing some structural aspects of their flowers in detail.